FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CASCADE - PAGE 3

HAGERSTOWN ? A 36-year-old woman sentenced Tuesday to two months in jail for deserting her teenage daughter has filed a notice that she plans to appeal the decision, according to Washington County District Court documents. Joyce Marie Kwarta, formerly of 14339 Macafee Hill Road in Cascade, posted a $15,000 appeal bond Wednesday afternoon that will free her until her case is heard in Washington County Circuit Court. On June 16, Kwarta's daughter, then 16, told Washington County Sheriff's Department Dep. C.L. McCarthy that her mother left early that morning to move to Mexico with a man she was dating, McCarthy said in charging documents.

It was the railroad that brought them, but the cars that took them away. At least that's Richard Happel's assessment of the development of Cascade, the mountaintop town at the northeastern corner of Washington County that now teeters uncertainly as residents and developers argue over the future of the former Fort Ritchie U.S. Army base. Happel, 96, a descendant of one of the Cascade area's first residents, remembers picking blackberries with his grandmother on the land that is now Fort Ritchie.

CASCADE - A Hyattsville, Md., man died Sunday morning when his motorcycle crashed into a guardrail on Md. 491 in Cascade, Maryland State Police said in a news release. Jason L. Farley, 29, was riding a 2005 Yamaha R6 with a pack of about nine other motorcycles when the crash happened at about 11:08 a.m., police said. Farley was headed north on Md. 491 at an apparent high rate of speed as he approached a sharp curve at Ritchie Road, police said. Farley struck a guardrail and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Deputies in Washington and Frederick counties were notified Thursday by Pine Bluff, Ark., police of the recovery of more than $30,000 in property including guns, jewelry, cameras and other items believed stolen recently from the Cascade area. Investigator Greg Alton of the Washington County Sheriff's Department said he was told five people had been apprehended after a chase. Lt. Larry Plunkett of the Pine Bluff, Ark., Police said his department got a tip about people in a car trying to sell guns.

By ELLEN LYON Staff Writer A Waynesboro, Pa., man, wanted for allegedly speeding away in his car on Jonathan Street while a Hagerstown Police officer tried to stop him by holding onto the car, was arrested Saturday outside a Cascade tavern, Maryland State Police said. Rex Allen Stoops, 26, was charged with first degree assault and turned over to the Hagerstown Police Department, state police said. But first Stoops paid a visit to Washington County Hospital where he was treated for injuries received in a fiery chase with Washington Township (Pa.)

CASCADE - The man who was hospitalized Saturday following a fire at a Cascade auto repair shop was the business' owner, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office. An office news release said Gary Mekerdijian, whose age and address were not released, suffered burns during a 3:11 p.m. fire at the garage at 25216 Military Road. The fire, which caused an estimated $160,000 in damages to the structure, started when gasoline splashed on a hot work light and spread to combustibles inside the shop, according to the release.

Maybe Washington County doesn't need a citizens advisory committee to oversee redevelopment of the former Fort Ritchie army base, but the area certainly needs more of a voice than it has now. As we've suggested in the past, there should be a seat on the PenMar Development board for a member of the Cascade community. The proposal for the citizens advisory group was advanced in a July 3 letter to the Washington County Commissioners from Jim Lemon and Karl Weissenbach. The letter said that the panel would ensure that citizens were not left out of the planning process in the future.

There are disturbing signals that some PenMar Development Corporation officials might be moving in directions that could undermine efforts to ensure a balanced approach to redeveloping Fort Ritchie that incorporates economic, residential and recreational components. In 1997, a remarkable document entitled "Comprehensive Redevelopment Plan for Fort Ritchie" was approved by the federal government as the authoritative document that would serve as the blueprint for long-term redevelopment of Fort Ritchie.

The Washington County Commissioners will hold a public hearing Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. on a plan to buy 5 acres of land in Cascade. The county wants to buy the land as part of its communications system upgrade plans. County Commissioners President John F. Barr said Friday the county has leased space for digital and antenna systems in the area from the federal government, but is no longer allowed to do so because of federal security changes. The property is owned by Frosty Towers Inc., a Missouri-based communications company.

To the editor: Before the end of June, the Board of Washington County Commissioners (BOCC) will be required to appoint four directors to fill expired terms on the board of PenMar Development Corporation (PMDC), the public instrumentality created to redevelop Fort Ritchie. There have been many red flags at Fort Ritchie signaling the need for reform and new thinking on the PMDC board, and the Feb. 4, decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals prohibiting the transfer of base property to PMDC is the most recent and biggest red flag of them all. The requests below constitute our recommendations to the BOCC on how to begin changing the culture of the PMDC board.